How to Use Starter Group Policy Objects in Windows Server

In this Ask the Admin, I’ll show you how to work with starter Group Policy Objects (GPOs) to expedite the creation of GPOs in your domain.

Starter GPOs were introduced in Windows Server 2008 to help administrators quickly create new Group Policy Objects. Functioning like a template, starter GPOs can only be used to configure settings held under Administrative Templates. The Software Settings and Windows Settings categories are excluded because they contain references to users, groups, computers, and UNC paths.

Now you’ll see a list of pre-defined System starter GPOs on the Contents tab in the right pane.

Right click the Starter GPOs container in the left pane and select New… from the menu.

In the New Starter GPO dialog, give the new starter GPO a name and click OK. The new starter GPO will appear on the Contents tab in the right pane.

Right click the new starter GPO, and select Edit… from the menu. The Group Policy Starter GPO Editor will open.

In the Group Policy Starter GPO Editor window, you can add either Computer or User Configuration settings under Administrative Templates, just as you would for a GPO.

Configure any settings you want to include in this starter GPO, and then close the editor window.

Unlike a GPO, the only way you can see a report of settings configured in a starter GPO is to right click the starter GPO, and select Save Report… from the menu to save a report as an HTML file that can then be viewed in Internet Explorer.

Create a New GPO Based on a Starter GPO

Now that the system defined starter GPOs and one custom starter GPO have been defined, when creating a new GPO, you have the option to select from a list of starter GPOs in the New GPO dialog under the Source Starter GPO menu. The settings from the starter GPO will be copied to the new GPO. For more information on creating and linking Group Policy Objects (GPOs), see How to Create and Link a Group Policy Object in Active Directory on the Petri IT Knowledgebase.

Load and Save Starter GPOs as Cabinet Files

Once you have a starter GPO configured in your domain, you can save it as a compressed cabinet file so that it can be easily loaded into another domain. As starter GPOs only contain Administrative Settings, no mapping of AD object or UNC path references is required.

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About the Contributor

Russell Smith specializes in the management and security of Microsoft-based IT systems. In addition to blogging about Windows and Active Directory for the Petri IT Knowledgebase, Russell is a Contributing Editor at CDW’s Biztech Magazine. Russell has more than 15 years of experience in IT, has written a book on Windows security, co-authored one for Microsoft’s Official Academic Course (MOAC) series and has delivered several courses for Pluralsight.